Lesson 003 - Kuenda kuTown

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Today, we’ll recite a story entitled “Kuenda Ku Town”

Featured Image: Photo taken at the Crown Plaza Monomotapa Hotel in Town (Harare City Center). These beautiful ladies were just wonderful, and were preparing for Zimbabwe's 2009 Miss Deaf Beauty Pageant. Next time you're in Zimbabwe, visit Kiri Davies' beauty parlor at the Crowne Plaza. Kiri Davies was training the contestants for the pageant, and did a great job.

In Harare, the capital city of Zimbabwe, the city center which is referred to as “town” is the heart of the city.  So when people say they’re going to “town,” it means they’re going to the city center.  Here’s a preview of the complete story that you will recite at the end of this lesson.

Kuenda ku Town

Nhasi ndamuka makuseni

Ndiri kuenda kuTown.

Ndatanga nekuwaridza mubhedha.

Pandapedza kuwaridza mubhedha, ndaenda kunogeza mwiri.

Iyezvino ndiri kupfeka hembe nebhutsu.

Ndichakwira bhazi, nekufamba netsoka.

Ndichatenga zvinhu zvakawanda.

Handeyi ku town!

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Now lets learn some vocabulary

Kuenda - To Go

KuTown - To Town

“Ku” the letters “k and U” means “To” in Shona.  Such as “Ku Enda” which means To Go.  To say the phrase “to go to town”, you say: “Kuenda Ku Town.”  The word enda, means “Go.”  Its the same word you’d use to tell someone “Go!”  ”Enda.”

Here’s a very important word:  Ndiri

Ndiri means “I am.”

Ndiri kuenda kutown.  I am going to town

The word Basa means work.

Ndiri kuenda kubasa:  I am going to work.

The word chikoro means school

Ndiri kuenda kuchikoro:  I am going to school.

Now you try one…

The word musika means market.  How would you say “I am going to the market?”

Ndiri kuenda kumusika.  I am going to the market

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Nhasi - Today

Ndamuka - I woke up

In shona, when referring to yourself, your phrase will usually begin with the letters “Nd.”  There are two sounds you will often hear.

Nda - Which is Found in past tense

Ndi - Which Found in present and future tenses

For example, The word “Muka” means “wake up.”  So if you say “Ndamuka,” this means “I woke up”

Makuseni - In the morning.

What does:  ”Ndamuka makuseni” mean?

It means - “I woke up in the morning.”

Ndatanga - I started

Again, here “nda” refers to “I”, followed by the word “tanga” which means started.

Can you guess what this means?  Ndatanga kuenda kubasa.

“I started going to work.”

Nekuwaridza mubedha - with making the bed.

Ne - is another 2 letter prefix in shona.  This one means “with” when followed by an action or a thing.  For example, nesimba.  If you’ve seen the movie the Lion King, you may recognize the word “Simba.”  This means “Power”.  So if you say nesimba, it means “with power!”  So continuing with our phrase: nekuwaridza mubhedha. “with making the bed.”

kuwaridza - To spread out.  Waridza is really a unique shona word that refers only to spreading out something like a sheet, mat, a blanket, or like items.  Its only used in that sense, and the majority of the times, it being used to refer to making a bed or spreading our something to sit on like a floor mat.  So when people say “kuwaridza mubedha” it literrally means “to spread out the bed” which means “to make the bed.”

Again we see the 2 letter prefix “ku” which means “to”.  Kuwaridza mubhedha- To spread out… or to make.

Mubhedha - Bed

Kuwaridza Mubhedha - To make the bed.

Pandapedza ku waridza mubhedha, ndaenda kuno geza muwiri.

Pandapedza - When I finished

Pedza - Means “finish.”

Pa - Is a 2 letter prefix which usually means “on” or “upon”….

Nda - as mentioned before means “I” in the past tense.

So if we put together - Pa - meaning “Upon”, “Nda” - meaning “I”, and “Pedza” - meaning finish… upon I finish…. we get pandapedza, meaning “when i finished.”

What does this mean?  Pandapedza kuwaridza mubhedha?

It means “When i finished making the bed.”

Shona is a very exciting language because it make up of pieces.  When you begin to get used to the pieces, you’ll be constructing your own sentances in no time.

Ndaenda- I went

Kunogeza - To wash - Geza means wash.  If you say “Geza mota”, it means Wash the car.

Mwiri - Body

Ndaenda kunogeza muwiri - literally says “I went to wash the body.”  But its translated “I went to take a bath.”  So, “kugeza mwiri” literally means “to wash the body,” but its directly translated “to take a bath.”

Pandapedza kuwaridza mubhedha, ndaenda kunogeza muwiri. - When I finished making the bed, I went to take a bath.

—

Iyezvino Ndiri kupfeka hembe ne bhutsu.

Iyezvino - This is a commonly used phrase which means “right now.”

Ndirikupfeka - I am putting on / I am wearing

Ndiri - I am

kupfeka - To put on , or to wear

Hembe - clothes

Ne - Remember, “ne” is a 2 letter prefix meaning “with” or “and” when referring to an action or a thing

Bhutsu - Shoes

Hembe ne bhutsu - Clothes and shoes

Ndiri kupfeka hembe ne bhutsu - I am wearing clothes and shoes.

—-

Ndichakwira bhazi, nekufamba netsoka.

Ndicha - I will

Kwira - climb (also used as “ride” when referring to transportation)

bhazhi - Bus

Ndicha kwira bhazhi - Literaly says “I will climb the bus,” however this is translated “I will ride the bus.”  Ndicha kwira bhazhi

Currenly In zimbabwe, the most popular mode of transportation are the Kombis.  so you’ll most likely hear “ndichakwira maKombi.”  I will ride the kombis.  Ndichakwira makombi.

Nekufamba netsoka

ne - Again, this is the 2 letter prefix meaning “with” or “and” when referring to and action or a thing

kufamba - to walk.  Famba means walk.  Remember that “ku” is a two letter prefix for “to”.

netsoka - Tsoka means feet.  so neTsoka means “with feet.”

Nekufamba netsoka - This literally means “and to walk with feet.”  This is translated “and to walk on foot”

Ndichakwira bhazi ne kufamba ne tsoka - I will ride the bus, and walk on foot.

–

Ndichatenga zvinhu zvakawanda

Ndicha - I will

tenga - Buy

Zvinu - Things

Zvakawanda - That are many

Ndichatenga zvinhu zvakawanda - I will buy many things.

Handeyi - Let’s go

kuTown - to town.

Handeyi ku Town! - Let’s go to town!